Genetic Diversity of Dominant Plant Species in Tropical Land-Use Systems in Sumatra, Indonesia:

Biodiversity hotspots like tropical lowland rainforests in Sumatra are threatened by the agricultural expansion, which increases the deforestation rate in Indonesia, which is highest worldwide. Main land-use change drivers in Indonesia include the production of rubber and palm oil, both of which lead to a high forest conversion rate. In the remaining and degraded forest patches, species diversity has declined and species composition has been altered. Effects of habitat fragmentation and land-use change on genetic structure were frequently investigated at the species level and compared across plant species, but not for plant communities. In addition, the effect of land-use change on the genetic structure of plants has not yet been investigated. Using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism marker, the genetic diversity of 112 dominant plant species was assessed in four different land-use systems in Sumatra: old growth tropical lowland rainforest, jungle rubber, rubber plantation, and oil palm plantation. Th...